Will you have to receive COVID-19 every year?

ORLANDO, Fla. – New cases of the British version of the COVID-19 virus are being reported across the country.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 611 total cases of COVID-19 in the United States, with Florida leading 187 cases.

At least 16 cases of the British variant have been reported in Central Florida.

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News 6 sat down with Dr. Jarod Fox, an infectious disease doctor at Orlando Health, to ask him a variety of questions about COVID-19 and new variants.

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Lauren Cervantes: Will people have to be inoculated every year for this, like the flu vaccine, or will there be something where you get the original vaccine and then you get a booster every few years?

Dr. Jarod Fox said right now that I do not know the answer to this question. He said most vaccine candidates are working on booster shots for a number of options, but added that they may not be necessary. Companies work ahead and produce amplifiers where needed, according to Dr. Fox. He said that, right now, most vaccines are effective against the variants presented.

Lauren Cervantes: Are young people more susceptible to new variants of the virus?

Currently, Dr. Fox said that I do not think that one population is more susceptible than another.

Lauren Cervantes: Are the vaccines that exist now effective against all of these variants?

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Dr. Fox told News 6 that both Moderna and Pfizer have studied and that their vaccines are still effective against the variants. That being said, he said they are less effective against the South African version than the UK version.

Lauren Cervantes: Can the virus move to the point where COVID-19 vaccines are no longer effective?

That would be the ultimate concern, according to Dr. Fox. He said we are not yet close to that point. He said there is always that chance if we do not control infections.